A MOTHER whose daughter took a fatal drugs overdose in Styal women's prison appeared on a BBC2 programme about the jail.

Pauline Campbell of Hampton Heath, near Malpas, told viewers about the death of 18-year-old Sarah in January 2003 on Women on the Edge: Inside Styal Women's Prison.

Sarah collapsed in Styal Prison, Cheshire, and died in hospital later that day. She appeared to have taken an overdose of antidepressants.

She was the youngest of six women to die at Styal Prison in a 12-month period, prompting an inquiry by Prisons Ombudsman Stephen Shaw.

Mrs Campbell said: 'Three years after my daughter's death, I am angry and dismayed that Styal Prison is still operating in a way that puts vulnerable women's lives at risk. I fear for the safety of the women in HMP & YOI Styal.

'Prisons have been allowed to become 'social dustbins' for mentally ill, drug dependent, and alcohol dependent people. Clearly, Styal Prison, in common with other jails, is being asked to fill in for mental health services in ways that ask too much of untrained staff.

'Their job is to hold a prisoner safely and securely. It is beyond the competence of staff to care for most of the women in Styal, and beyond what it is reasonable to expect of them.'

She said a suggestion that Styal Prison should become Europe's biggest jail for women was 'absurd' and rather it ought to be considered for closure.